Top seeds Colegio de San Juan de Letran and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA seek to avoid any complications in their pathway to the title as they try to oust their respective foes in the NCAA Season 101 women’s volleyball quarterfinals on Sunday.
The Lady Knights, still undefeated after 13 games, will face San Sebastian College-Recoletos at 2:30 p.m., while Group A leader Lady ALTAs will slug it out against Emilio Aguinaldo College at 12 p.m.
Both Letran and Perpetual hold a twice-to-beat incentive and hope to seal their Final Four berths without needing to use it.
The Lady Knights are favorites to win, as they completed a rare preliminary round sweep behind a stellar crew of Judiel Nitura, Vanessa Sarie, Gia Maquilang, Lastlie Isar, and team captain Lara Mae Silva with Mayeth Carolino calling the shots.
Letran is the third best spiking team behind Benilde and Perpetual, but leads in serving with a total of 87 aces throughout the group stage. The Lady Knights are also the best digging team, thanks to Silva's unwavering floor defense.
Perpetual, meanwhile, features Cy Almeniana and Jemalyn Menor, the league's seventh- and ninth-best scorers, respectively. The Lady ALTAs also rank third in digging and second in receiving, largely thanks to the steady hands of their libero Joanna Lozano.
However, not to be underestimated are the Lady Stags and the Lady Generals as they have already shown that they can spring an upset.
San Sebastian is headlined by veterans Kath Santos, Tina Marasigan, KJ Dionisio, and Juna Mar Gonzales, who exploded for 23 points and 12 digs in their knockout play-in game against Jose Rizal University on Friday.
EAC, meanwhile, fields a youthful squad led by Cara Dayanan, Angel Joy Perez, Alex Razonable, and Ashley Toriado, all of whom spearheaded their stunning 25-23, 25-16, 26-24 victory—their first of the season—over Lyceum of the Philippines University in the play-in round.
While Letran and Perpetual aim for a swift path to the semifinals, San Sebastian and EAC hope to force the top seeds into a do-or-die battle.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
